Relationship Spotlight: Kate Austen & Sayid Jarrah (Lost)

One of the best things, in my opinion, about big-ensemble dramas like Lost, Heroes, and Once Upon a Timeis the huge variety of character interactions you can have.  It’s especially fruitful in early episodes, when the cast is still getting to know one another and the showrunners haven’t hit upon their favorite pairings yet (romantic or otherwise.)  As a result, you tend to get a see-what-sticks potpourri of interpersonal relationships while everyone waits to see what rises to the top.  Kate and Sayid’s relationship is one of these early explorations, and though the two characters ultimately wound up spending most of their screentime in separate spheres, they continued to catch my attention every time they shared storylines.  (A few season 1 flashback spoilers.)

Like any character on Lost, Sayid and Kate both have complicated, insanely dramatic histories.  Quiet, technologically-gifted Sayid is a former Republican Guard interrogator, and though he’s spent years running from that past, the mere fact of his ethnicity and religion places him in an uncomfortable position after surviving a plane crash in a post-9-11 world.  Personable, athletic Kate more quickly wins over the trust and camaraderie of her fellow survivors, but she’s been running as well – she’s lived a transient life as a fugitive after committing a crime that, for more than a season, is shrouded in secrecy. 

Perception and identity (past and present) are important on the island.  Everyone has secrets or hidden shames held for different lengths of time, and just about everyone has had the entire camp turn against them at least once.  With Kate and Sayid, however, their backstories really don’t play a part in their relationship.  It’s not about her being an outlaw or him being a reformed torturer.  Rather, it’s about both of them being resourceful survivors volunteering their skills and intelligence to help everyone stay alive.  Both are frequent volunteers for jungle treks to find water, food, radio signals, and anything else that might sustain them or aid in their rescue.  Since Kate is an experienced tracker and Sayid has a flair for MacGyvering together electronic equipment from scavenged luggage, they’re valuable assets.

In this way, they’re a lot alike, and that allows them to work well together.  Both are brave and adventurous, they can think on their feet, and they can hold it together when they’re being threatened.  Both have had dark experiences in their lives and know their way around guns and unflinching decisions better than many of the other survivors (although it’s staggering how many passengers on one random plane flight have killed before.  If you fly Oceanic, doze with one eye open!)  As such, they’re often on the same page, banding together on treks to support one another’s ideas, sharing instincts, and communicating easily with no more than a look or a nod.

Best of all, there are no romantic undertones between them.  Now, this isn’t my ace friendship bias showing; it’s concern for Kate’s character.  I’m entirely capable of liking Kate; interminable backstory drama aside, island Kate is tough, clever, competent, and bold even when she’s scared.  Set her up as the prize in the Jack-Sawyer pissing contest, though, and her awesomeness rapidly ebbs away.  It becomes all about which one she wants, both men project things onto her that aren’t necessarily true, and the whole sorry business drags her down.  In contrast, an episode of Kate and Sayid Gettin’ Crap Done shows off what she can do and paints her in the best light.  I was sorry when the show started neglecting their relationship in favor of the love polygon that ate the series, and it always delighted me when they paired up again for a short jaunt.

See You in Another Life: Similarities Between Once Upon a Time and Lost

I recently got into fairy tale drama Once Upon a Time (came for the Sebastian Stan, stayed for the Snow White – who knew?)  I’d known going in that several actors from Lostappear on the show, but I was deep into season 1 before I saw it’s run by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, two Lost writers.  I was hardly surprised, though; even aside from the “supernatural-real world hybrid with huge international ensemble” structure, many Lost-ian touches and motifs litter the show.  Here are some good and not-so-good bits that feel eerily familiar (some spoilers.)

 

I’ve Seen That Face Before – Cast first.  Once Upon a Time’s ensemble includes Lana Parrilla (who briefly appeared on Lost as an Other) as Snow White’s evil queen and Emilie de Ravin (Claire) as Belle.  Jorge Garcia (Hurley) and Alan Dale (Widmore) respectively recur as a giant and a king, and Rebecca Mader (Charlotte) has a guest arc as the Wicked Witch of the West.

 

Have You Met My Troubled Past? – Well, what do you know – seasons-long arcs divided into character-centric episodes that weave present-day storylines with flashbacks, or “fairybacks” here.  (Most of the characters on Once Upon a Time are fairy tale characters living in the real world without their memories, thanks to a curse, and the flashbacks tell of their true lives back in their world.)  Like Lost, the flashbacks are doled out unequally, with a few characters getting far more episodes than others.  It’s a bit different, though, since these people lived in the same kingdom and their stories often intersect, so they frequently pop up in each other’s flashbacks.

 

Even the Best Sorceresses Have Mommy Issues – Seriously, you can’t go two feet without tripping over someone’s mommy or daddy issues (or step-mommy issues in Snow’s case.)  Throw in some convoluted family trees, and you get a whole lot of parental-trauma drama.

 

Out of the Closet and Out the Door – Both, maddeningly, reveal a single character to be queer and then have the character disappear from the show.  At least there’s hope Mulan could come back and get her happy ending, whereas Tom’s last appearance is a posthumous flashback.

 

Let’s Go on a Trek – Here, we find the same annoying tendency to spend whole episodes, not moving the plot forward, but having the character journey to a place where they’ll be able to move it forward.  It’s a stalling technique that fans have gotten wise to.  To be fair, though, Once Upon a Time is less likely to negate the reason for going by the time the characters arrive.

 

I Don’t Even Care That This Makes No Sense – Both shows can be hit-or-miss with their plot logic (I can’t tell if Once Upon a Time is better than Loston this score, or if I don’t notice it as much because I haven’t spent six years on it,) but what they lack in sense, they make up in emotional resonance.  The connections between the characters are ridiculously compelling, when the writing is on it’s really on, and the acting sells the emotional moments in tremendous ways.

 

Rumpelstiltskin = Desmond? – Okay, this last one’s just for fun.  On the surface, a dark sorcerer imp who’s fond of making deals is nothing like an Everyman who spent three years living down a hatch on an island of mystery.  But just look at the evidence.  Shaggy-haired brunette Scotsman.  Can see the future.  Achilles heel is being called a coward.  Desperately trying to reunite with a loved one lost through his mistakes.  Rumpelstiltskin is totallyDesmond!